Brief study of Paul’s theology of “Love”

Introduction

Love is divine-human relationships and in inter human relationships is at the heart of

Christian life and teachings. Paul declared love to be the greatest of the Christian qualities.

Understanding the idea of love is one of the most importance element for Christian Church.

Generally there is lack of love in our families, Churches, societies and communities. Most of

the churches are facing the problem of relationship within their church members. Many

people do not understand about the value of love. The Christians are talking about love but

their love is just giving lip service. Our present churches are living lawlessly, grounded with

quarrels, arguments, divisions and selfishness. In the message of Paul, he points out that we

may be able to remove mountains, to surrender our bodies to be burnet but if we have no

love, we are nothing. The spiritual gift of love expressed the love of God. Therefore, the

church members are to be patient, kind and humble in Jesus Christ. So, we need to do away

with the spirit of unforgiveness, selfishness and arguments in our relationship with one

another. Hence, it is essential that we study about the importance of love in all our

relationships in the homes, churches and in the community.

The Definition of Love

Love is defined in the dictionary as "An emotion, sentiment, or feeling of pleasurable

attraction toward or delight in something as a principle, or a person, or a thing, which induces

1
a desire for the presence, possession, well-being, or promotion of its object." The way of

covenant is the way of love, and the way of love is expressed in the constancy of

commitment.2 There are both internal and external elements in the Biblical concept of love.

1 ?
Guy B. Funderburk, “ Love,” The Zondervan Pictoral Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed., Merrill C.
Tenney, (Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980), 989.
2 ?
Willem A. Vangemeren, Interpreting the Prophetic Word, (Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1990), 365.
The internal aspect focuses on emotion, disposition, and motive. The external aspect focuses

on volition, choices, actions and a way of life. 3 Paul declares love to be the greatest of the

Christian graces (1 Cor. 13:13). Love is the most fundamental and prominent of these graces.

The love is God's love that He has placed in the believer in the indwelling Spirit. That should

overflow to God and others. It is the love that only the indwelling Holy Spirit can produce in

a believer. We do not have to produce it. We just need to cooperate with God by doing His

will, with His help, and the Spirit will produce it. According to Keith Miller, the apostle Paul

points out there that love is more important than all the other Spiritual gifts we may receive.

In fact, he said, without love the other gifts don't mean a thing. 4 In my opinion, for Paul love

is the most important of all Christian graces and the very heart of Christian ethic. Paul’s

understanding of the gospel lies the saving love of God in Christ. Paul's personal sufferings

for the salvation of others were also worthless without love (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23-29; 12:10).The

supreme expression of this undeserved love is Christ’s death on the cross as a sacrifice for

sins (Rom 5:8; Eph 2:4-5; 2 Ths 2:16: Gal 2:20). Therefore, to experience love is to

experience God; to know love is to know God. God is inseparable from His nature. It is

significant that Paul wrote both of "the God of love" and the love of God" (2 Cor. 13:11, 14).

So the Love of God can be studied under three headings: Attribute of God's Nature, and

Expression of God's Nature.

Attribute of God's Nature

Love is a part of the nature of God. It has its ultimate origin in God. Therefore, every

expression of love, whether of God or man, emanates from God. At the heart of Paul's

understanding of the message lies the saving of God in Christ. Paul says, “But God's mercy is

so abundant and His love for us is so great that while we were spiritually dead in our
3 ?
Mc Quilkin, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics, (Illinois: Tyndale House, 1989), 4.
4 ?
Keith Miller, The Scent of Love, (Texas: Word Book Publisher, 1972), 91.

2
disobedience, He brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been

saved” (Eph. 2:4-5). When Paul speaks of God's love, it is usually with reference to Christian

salvation. God's love is shown both on the cross and in the specific calling and choosing of

believers.

Expression of God's Nature

Paul said that the love of God may be seen in all His creative works. At times and

places law and power are more in evidence in nature, but God's love is under girding all

(Rom. 1:20). Love is manifested in beauty and orderliness, and in the balance and sustenance

of natural life. Nature in turn becomes an instrument of God's love for man in providing food

in plants (Gen. 1:29f) and in fish, birds, and animals (Gen. 9:2f). God's promise to Noah after

the flood summarizes His loving care for man through natural laws: “While the earth

remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not

cease” (Gen. 8:22). God's love also transcends the area of ecology.

The Character of Love

The apostle pointed out the qualities of love that is so important. He described these in

relationship to a person's character that love rules. We see them most clearly in God and in

Christ but also in the life of anyone in whose heart God's love reigns.

Patience and kindness like love are aspects of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Patience and

kindness mark God, Christ, and truly Christian behavior. The behavior: envious (1 Cor 3:3;

4:18), boastful (1 Cor 3:18; 8:2; 14:37), proud (1 Cor 4:6, 18-19; 5:2; 8:1), rude (1 Cor 7:36;

11:2-16) and self-seeking (1 Cor 10:24, 33). Their behavior was not loving. Love does not

deal with other people in a way that injures their dignity. It does not insist on having its own

way. It does not put its own interests before the needs of others (Phil. 2:4). It does not keep a

record of offenses received to pay them back (Luke 23:34; Rom. 12:17-21; 2 Cor. 5:19).

3
Love takes no delight in evil or the misfortunes of others, but it takes great pleasure in what is

right. Love covers unworthy things rather than bringing them to the light.

Here is the chart of the Love Characteristics from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The Donation of Love

Christ is the gift of God's love to man, and sufficient for all his needs: life, liberty,

healing, and happiness, fellowship with man and with God. Paul admonished the Roman

Christians to “owe no one anything, except to love one another” (Rom. 13:8). Therefore, love

is a personal product of supreme value and a debt that every Christian owes his brother.

However, it is a free gift from God, unmerited by man. God does not owe it, but man does.

According to Morris, man is placed under obligation by the free gift from God to share it with

another.5 Paul is absolutely clear on the wonder of God's great love for us; a love issued on

the cross and brought us salvation.

The Demands of Love

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “The Love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14).

Christians are controlled, constrained, and motivated by the love of Christ. As Jesus faced the

cross, He said, “He who loves his life loses it” (John 12:25). Jesus was ready to lose His life

to save it and others. Thus He also said, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw

all men to myself (John 12:32). Paul left the pull of that love on the cross, and He saw its

affects in Christian converts.6 The love of Christ placed Paul “under obligation both to

Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish” (Rom. 1:14). For Paul, his

rejoicing, endurance, and hope, even in suffering, were “because God's love has been poured

into our heart through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5). This love can

5 ?
Leon Morris, New Testament Theology ( Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,. 1990), 50.
6 ?
Tenney, 992.

4
be traced through Christ from God, climaxed in the crucifixion. “But God shows His love for

us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

The Love of Man

We should be clear about one thing concerning agape love. All too often today’s love

is seen only as an emotion of feeling. Certainly there is emotion involved in love, whether it

is love for others or love for God. But love is more than an emotion. Love is not a feeling,

love is doing. True love is love which acts. That is the way God loves us. The command to

love is not an option. According to Paul, with the entrance of sin man has become a hater and

enemy of God (Rom 1:30). But because God initiated His love by sending His Son, believers

are exhorted on the basis of God's own love, to love one another (1 John 4:10-11). Paul

admonished, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect

harmony” (Col. 3:14). Man's love finds expression in numerous ways between himself and

his fellowman and between himself and God, in home, community and church. Love is the

keynote of the new Kingdom. Love is the rubric for the whole of the Christian life. If a

Christian fails to love others, doubt is cast on his or her professed love for God. Love readily

suggests purity. The two are found together in God, whose eyes are too pure to look on evil

and who cannot be tempted by it. The human attitude must follow the divine in this respect,

because love and evil are opposites. Therefore to love on the one side, and to hate evil on the

other, belong together.

Love Your Neighbor

For Paul, loving others is the single most important characteristic of the Christian life

and the heart of Christian living. Everything one does is to be an expression of love. The

command to love one's neighbor is stated often first in Lev. 19:18, which is then quoted

several times in the New Testament (Matt. 5:43, 19:19, Mark 12:31, Rom. 13:9, Gal. 5:14,

5
James 2:8). Paul states that love for the neighbor is the fulfillment of the Law (Rom. 13:8,

10). In giving the command to love one's neighbor, Jesus made it clear in the parable of the

good Samaritan that one's that one's neighbor are more than those who are acquaintances or

of the same nationality (Luke 10:27-37). The command is to love the neighbor to the degree

that one loves himself. Since man is basically selfish and is concerned about himself, he

should have that same degree of concern for his neighbor. In addition, loving others is only

the appropriate ethical response to the divine love shown in the gospel. For Paul, the whole of

the Christian life is a joyful response to God’s grace in the gospel: it is an expression of

gratitude for Christ. Loving others is a way of saying “thank you” for divine love (2 Cor 8:1-

9).

The characteristics of love are spelled out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is shown

in patience and kindness not in jealousy, pride, arrogance, rudeness, insistence, irritability,

resentment or a sense of getting even. In other words, real love is not self-centered, but is

willing to sacrifice its own desires for the good of others.

Loving others is not simply a matter of doing good or showing mercy but is to

spring from a sense of genuine care and compassion. It is to be real and heartfelt merely

going through the motions will not suffice. Therefore, the believer should love his neighbor;

whoever that might be, but he must have a real and deep concern and love for those who are

fellow believers. Genuine love is honor put into action regardless of the cost.

Love for Family

Westerhoff states: “A Christian family has nothing to do with structures and roles; it

has to do with the quality of life together, a quality of life than can assume many shapes and

in which person can play.”7 The Scriptures have a few commands and ample illustration of

7 ?
Nicolas Lossky, Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing, 1991), 416.

6
love within the family. Husbands are commanded to love their wives (Col. 3:19) as Christ

loves the church (Eph. 5:25-33). Certainly the wife's submission to the husband is evidence

of her love for him (Eph. 5:22-24). Also, only once is there a command for parents to love

their children, specifically for young wives to love their children (Titus 2:4). But children are

commanded to honor and to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1). Interestingly, there is no command

or example of children loving their parents.

Human love in the family binds husband and wife, father and children, mother and

children, and children and children. Paul encouraged matrimonial love, and compared it to

the love-bond between Christ and His Church. Consequently, he commanded: “Husbands,

love your wives, as Christ loved the church” (Eph. 5:25). Jay E. Adams states:

“When Paul talks about Christian relationships, he is speaking of the joint walk of
husbands with their wives, the walk of children with their parents and parents with
their children, and of the business man with his employees. We do not walk in the
paths of righteousness alone. Christ and our brethren are on the road as well. It is the
walk of the Christian with the Lord and with other believers that Paul had in mind.” 8

Paul recommended love as the unifying bond of the entire household, mentioning

“wives ..... husbands........ children ....... Father ......... slaves” (Col. 3:18-22). Therefore,

family life without love is really worthless.

Love for Enemies

Love is the greatest thing for us. If we love our enemies, if we solve our problems

with love, if we love each other, if we see everything with love, do everything with love, if

we give love to others and we do not expect from them anything, do the best whatever you do

and with love. How can we get love? And whom it is from? The answer is only on the cross

of Jesus Christ do love.

8 ?
Jay E. Adams, Christian Living in the Home, (New Jersey: Reformed Publishing, 1984), 26.

7
Application and Conclusion

Love is the “new commandment” of Jesus (John 13:34). His sacrifice shows God’s

love over his creatures. Hence, “love” is the virtue of Christian life. Although the religions

are teaching to love, people are more and more selfish today. In Myanmar, there are various

conflicts based on ethnicity, religious diversity, poverty, etc. Civil war is a greatest issue for

the government and last over 50 years. However, the leaders of both sides seem losing to trust

one another or there may be some problems we do not know. Lacking trust covers being

human and makes us to forget loving each other. There are few groups who are shouting for

the suffering and rights of the victims. That voices come out from their compassion and love

on being human. Hence, loving each other is the basic need to be a peaceful society. Morton

T. Kelsey said, “Love is the central reality in this universe of ours, and that our primary task

as human beings is to know this love and express it to those around us”. Schwieker also said

“love is the magic key of life – not to get what we want, but to become what we ought to be.”

We must love one another and we all are one in the presence of God.

Indeed human life withers away and dies without love. Children do not mature

properly, do not learn, do not grow if they are not loved. Babies rude and die without love.

Older people who are not in loving communication with others are the first to take sick and

die. Love makes human beings human, as we are loved we can begin to love ourselves and to

treat ourselves as valuable human beings. Deep in the heart of each of us is the fear that no

one can abide the totality of our inner being; murderer, idiot and traitor. This is the result of

our estrangement from God. Only as we human beings are loved and tenderly cared for can

this disfigurement within us be healed and be replaced by a new growth of self-respect and

maturity. It is nearly impossible to develop faith unless we have been loved. Faith is another

product of love. Therefore, there are various ways that the Churches can do for the Christian

families. We must start to love one another from our family, Churches.

8
 The churches need to give effective Bible study weekly before church worship for

individual Christian, families, and church members, to be followed by serious discussion on

the practice of Christian love in their lives. It is very important that leaders and teachers of

our churches will be given help and guidance to teach the practice of Christian love to all the

church members, both young and old. Arrange Bible study and discussion for the parents to

help them to teach and to control their children in their homes. Churches must organize

special program for the children to learn, to obey and to honor the parents by using story

telling method, teaching them Bible verses (Ex. 20:12, Eph. 6:1) and giving them special talk

on the practice of love in the homes. Special trainings and counseling be arranged for families

who have remarried and have step-children from the previous marriage partners. These

families need to show love to their step-children and understand the challenges of marrying

again.

Today’s Churches must organize Bible study program for youth to help them

understand about Christian love and practices with the parents and with their peer-group. This

is to be followed by the effective and interesting discussion with them. Churches must

organize Bible study program for the families so that husbands and wives can build their

families on Christian love and practice. The effective and interesting discussions should be

followed Ephesians 5:22-6:4 are suggested for the study to build a better Christian home life.

In a family, in-laws can build up the family or break the family. So, we ministers

should organize effective study program for in-laws and to help them practice Christian love

in the home. For the spiritual strength of church members, to love one another with brotherly

love, spiritual life retreat must be arrange on the theme, let us love one another. Sunday

school lessons for children and young people must be written to help them learn become

loving and caring person their parents, teachers, and friends in work and play.

9
 In summary, love was descendent from God. There are three basic principal in

Christian life, love, faith, and hope. Among them, love is the most powerful and crucial thing

in Christian life. It is not enough to believe God, it is also important to love Him. Just only by

loving God, we can live as a good Christian by our own desire. Love is greater than anything

we can say or anything we can possess or anything we can give. The greatest chapter on love

in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13. Its description of love should be written in letters of gold on

every Christian heart.

10
Bibliography
Adams, Jay E. Christian Living in the Home. New Jersey: Reformed Publishing, 1984.
Lossky, Nicolas. Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement. Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing, 1991.
Morris, Leon. New Testament Theology. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990.
Mc Quilkin. An Introduction to Biblical Ethics. Illinois: Tyndale House, 1989.
Miller, Keith. The Scent of Love. Texas: Word Book Publisher, 1972.
Funderburk, Guy B. “ Love,” The Zondervan Pictoral Encyclopedia of the Bible. Edited by
Merrill C. Tenney. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980.
Vangemeren, Willem A. Interpreting the Prophetic Word. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1990.

11